1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a reinforcement for a structural member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reinforcing structural members is beneficial to many different industries when manufacturing products to have a minimum amount of structural integrity. Often times, weight is a consideration when making such reinforcements. To reduce weight, the structural member may be hollow, defining a cavity. A reinforcement may be placed in the cavity to strengthen the structural member, the idea being that the weight of the structural member with the reinforcement is lower than the weight of a solid structural member. This is especially true if the reinforcement is made from lighter materials than the structural member. For instance, the structural member may be formed from steel, whereas the reinforcement may be formed from a plastic.
Another consideration is the structural integrity of the hollowed structural member with the reinforcement disposed in the cavity. This is especially true if the reinforcement is formed from a lighter material than the structural member. Increasing the structural integrity of the reinforcement may include providing the reinforcement with an internal rib structure or coating an outer surface of the reinforcement with a structural foam. Although previous configurations of the internal rib structure and the structural foam on the outside of the reinforcement have met the standards for reinforcing the structural member, other configurations of the reinforcement may further increase the structural integrity of the reinforcement and the structural member. This may be beneficial to many industries, such as the automotive or aerospace industries, where a significant increase in structural integrity with a minimum increase in weight is ideal.
Accordingly, despite previous attempts to increase the structural integrity of the reinforcement and the structural member, a reinforcement is needed that improves upon the internal rib structure of the previous reinforcements by increasing the structural integrity of the reinforcement and the structural member without a significant increase in weight.